US downgrades China, Russia over human trafficking

The U.S. has accused China and Russia of failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking, ranking them on a par with North Korea and Syria. Rights activists welcomed the move, but it could further strain Washington’s touchy relations with the two world powers.

The State Department downgraded China and Russia in rankings on how 188 governments around the world have performed in fighting the flesh trade and other forms of exploitative labor.

The U.S. also downgraded Uzbekistan over its state-sanctioned use of forced labor in the annual cotton harvest.

The rankings are in the department’s annual report released Wednesday.

President Barack Obama now has 90 days to determine whether to apply sanctions against China, Russia, Uzbekistan and 18 other governments given a “tier three” ranking _ the lowest the department gives.